I've been using Canon equipment for decades. I am a photo 'enthusiast' but hardly a pro-style photog. I have used various film cameras, several Canon Rebels, EOS 7D mark 1 and mark 2 plus several 'L' lenses. All that time, I've been searching for the perfect travel camera -- I don't think it exists. I've used many small digital snappers including the Sony RX100-II, which took nice photos but was maddeningly fussy to hold and use, as well as the Fuji XT100 (great camera but fixed 40mm-equiv lens).
VideoPad is a comprehensive cross-platform software package for the YouTube social media crowd. While this app lacks the flashy, whiz-bang appeal of some commercial apps, it’s still a rock-solid choice for simple video editing. From the main menu, you can choose which social network you want to upload to. The app offers a number of YouTube choices ranging from 480p to 4K, as well as Facebook, Flickr, Dropbox and Google Drive, and is free for non-commercial use.
Michael Muchmore is PC Magazine's lead analyst for software and web applications. A native New Yorker, he has at various times headed up PC Magazine's coverage of Web development, enterprise software, and display technologies. Michael cowrote one of the first overviews of web services for a general audience. Before that he worked on PC Magazine's S... See Full Bio
The Express Projects module offers a library of preprogrammed video templates to choose from. PowerDirector walks you through sorting your footage, choosing the best shots for your video and letting you experiment with where to place footage in the template. This is important for two reasons: First, it allows beginner and novice users the opportunity to complete a project without being intimidated by the complexity of the software; second, it does so in a way that teaches you to use the tools in the Full Feature Editor, making the jump that much easier.

It’s the stripped-down version of Adobe Premiere, an industry-standard editing program used to create movies, TV shows, music videos, commercials and online video content from major brands. Although the workflow is much different than Premiere, Elements give you a taste of the tools used by professionals in a user-friendly way. It has three modules to make videos: Quick, which is great for making short videos quickly. Guided, which teaches you the ins and outs of the program, and Expert, which removes all the training wheels and lets you delve deep into your creative ventures. All projects made with Elements can be exported for transfer into the professional Premiere application.

Then, along comes the EOS M5 and M6. I was reluctant to take the plunge due to slow-focusing issues I'd read about. I wanted the smallest possible camera but very high quality. Then, I read that the M6 has a nearly identical APS-C sensor to the new 80D - which has even better dynamic range than my 7D Mii. Then, I thought "but it doesn't have a viewfinder." Well, heck, I take photos all the time with my phone. So, I ordered the M6 with the 15-45 kit lens. I took many test photos. The camera is very easy to work with and I was pleased with the results. Compared to my previous Canon glass, M-lenses are tiny, but they're sharp. Plus, any small faults can be corrected in software. I don't really miss the viewfinder but there is one available to attach to the hot shoe. The controls are intuitive and the touchscreen is a joy to use. Manual exposure is easy to dial in quickly.
Other measures of performance include startup time and simple stability. Again, video editing is a taxing activity for any computer, involving many components. In the past, video editing programs took longer than most other apps to start up, and unexpected shutdowns were unfortunately common, even in top apps from top developers such as Adobe and Apple. The stability situation has greatly improved, but the complexity of the process, which increases as more powerful effects are added, means crashes will likely never be fully eliminated, and they often raise their ugly heads after a program update, as I found with the latest version of Pinnacle Studio.
Our team of reviewers used each program’s editing tools, effects and export options to create identical test DVDs. They timed how long it took to burn a new DVD, complete with menus and chapters when possible. Our video experts then played the new DVDs on a large-screen television and searched for imperfections such as compression artifact, motion blur and interlacing issues. The results of these tests, as well as our reviewers’ personal experiences using each program, were used to decide the programs’ final scores and ranks. All our tests were designed to replicate the experience of an average user as well as a veteran editor.
The T#i line is what they call a "pro-sumer" line, which is basically between a consumer line camera like a very basic DSLR and a professional DSLR camera, thus the term "pro-sumer." Typically what this meant is an DSLR with an APS-C sized sensor, decent resolution, and some hand-me-down professional features of pro-grade cameras from a few years ago. For this reason, sometimes it's not worth upgrading from one of these cameras to the next until at least a few generations have past (meaning if you have a T5i, it's not really a giant leap forward to upgrade to a T6i). However, the T7i is somewhat different. When I was doing research on what features it has and what it is missing compared to the pro-grade DSLRs that are considered "current" right now, I was surprised to find very little. The main differences really is that the pro-grade cameras have the LCD display on the top that would display all of your relevant camera settings, and then a few of them would also sport a full-frame sensor. Other than that, the differences are very minor. Something like maybe 1 or 2 frames less in burst mode or something like that. Nothing that would really jump out at you and make you regret not stepping up to the professional grade equivalent (Think it would be the 77D?). It actually has pretty much all of the big features of even their current pro-grade DSLRs, making the T7i probably one of the best prosumer DSLRs to buy.

Purchasing the full version of VideoStudio Ultimate X10 adds a whole extra set of options that beginners will quickly love, including multi-monitor support, easier title creation, and even stop-motion animation. Corel supports almost every output format imaginable, so it's ideal for sharing socially or for hosting online for the world to see. Another highlight for beginners is the inclusion of storyboard mode, which will help draft the exact vision they have in mind for a finished product without wasting hours and days on edits that may never see the light of day.

Not an expert? Don’t know how to edit videos, have a video studio, or have a bona fide video specialist to shoot and cut your features? That’s alright! The goal of today’s blog is to show you that with the right video editing software, you too can churn out sleek, professional video content—regardless of experience—and keep your content strategy ahead of the curve.

There are tons of in-program effects such as transitions, titles, credits, captions and even included audio scores, meaning you won’t get held up at any step of your editing process. There are panning and shift capabilities, high-quality post-processing zoom, as well as a plethora of color filtering plugins to give you the look you’ll need, even if the raw footage isn’t quite there. You’ll have the ability to export your movies in up to 4K resolution, and the software even supports 360-degree video projects. It’s a great powerhouse for beginners.